Kiwi Christmas in a strange land for some

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 617, 19 December 1995, Page 9

Kiwi Christmas in a strange land for some

BY

Rachel

wllliams

Many Waimarino people comefrom cultures where Christmas is quite different to here in their new home. Irene Whale-Gammeter says the main difference from Christmas in Switzerland is the lack of snow and freezing

temperatures. Irene says the snowy weather in Switzerland keeps everyone inside making it more festive. Because it is dark by 4pm the streets are brightly lit with beautiful lights and all the shops are decorated. Carols by candlelight sung in the streets add to the

atmosphere as people go about their shopping and then meet with friends for a glass of mulled wine. Neighbours take it in turns to look after the children, so all the adults have a chance to go shopping. Irene says this was a very special part of Christmas for her. In Switzerland every child learns a song and makes a present at school and has to keep them both a secret until Christmas Eve. Irene says gifts tend to be handmade and given as a token of friendship. In Switzerland Christmas Eve is the main day of celebration. On 24 December. children open their presents in the moming and then everyone stays home all day with their family. In the evening people have Christmas dinner and attend mass. Christmas dinner features potato crisps, salads, beautiful home made breads, and a selection of meats. Meat is very expensive and veal, venison, steak and ham on the bone are a treat. Fondue Bourguignon is a favourite dish in Switzerland and Irene says New Zealand relatives find it a lot of fun. On Christmas Day everyone goes skiing or starts their new year cards (instead of Xmas cards). Through nine years of hot New Zealand Christmases, Irene has managed to retain a lot of the Swiss traditions that are important to her as well as accepting some of our traditions such as

Christmas cake and paper hats. First Kiwi Christmas Kordula and Uwe Kroll, the new proprietors of the Ohakune Motor Camp, are looking forward to their first Christmas in New Zealand away from their native Germany. Uwe says the family is delighted to have been asked to spend their first Christmas in New Zealand with their neighbours. Like Irene , the Krolls say the thing they will miss this Christmas is the lack of winter conditions. Kordula says that every year people in Germany hope for a white Christmas. It is such a topical matter that even the Weather presenters on TV speculate on the chances of a white Christmas. In the lead-up to Christmas someone in most house holds is frantically baking cookies, many of them containing lavish amounts of chocolate. Kordula says she doesn't know if this is a tradition she is going to keep up as many of the cookies would melt at the first sign of a New Zealand summer. Christmas shopping is a good excuse to visit Nurnberg, which is very famous, where there is a huge market that sells every sort of Christmas goodie imaginable. Uwe says that he once travelled eight hours to get there in order to do his Christmas shopping. Three senior members of the church sing carols at

individual ho'uses and Kordula says they are meant to bring good luck for the new year. The carol singers are symbolic of the three wise men and they leave the initials of the original wise men plus the number of the new year on people' s doors. Most people in the

village the Krolls came from participated in this tradition, Christmas Eve is the pinnacle of the Christmas season in Germany. The Krolls say 24 December is regarded as a family day that is spent at home with close family members. Uwe says that in Germany it

would be very odd to invite your neighbours to spend the day with you but he adds that this does not mean that you do not like your neighbours! Kordula says that Christmas Eve is the highest day of depression for people who have no family.